Sponsored by the
Museum of Natural
Science, Louisiana State University
Skeleton preparation techniques
We have done some enzyme
skeleton cleaning in the past with Trypsin. This was primarily done on
skeletons that would not bug by the Dermestids because the skeletons had been
soaked n formalin at some stage.
There was a paper on the
initial results published in 1999 in the journal Collection Forum (1999: vol 13
(2) pp 51 - 62 Von Endt, et al.). We have recently been talking about doing an
examination of these specimens to check for any long-term problems arising from
the cleaning the skeletons with an enzyme.
I can tell you that, at
least with Trypsin, it will be as smelly as water maceration, require
monitoring of the temperature as many of the enzymes work best in a somewhat
narrow temperature range, the skeletons we processed came out somewhat brown
stained and the bones continue to smell.
James Dean
Collection Manager
Smithsonian Institution
Division of Birds
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Enzymes (we used Biz) are
soooo slow compared with dermestids. We used an aquarium filled with water and
Biz, with a heater to keep it going. Slow, smelly, and requires a lot of
handwork to clean the bones afterward. Skulls disarticulate. However, if you
only have a few skeletons to clean or only rarely clean skeletons, it is
probably not worth trying to have a bug colony. You would have to clean the
skeletons one semester, mount them the next I think.
The dermestids used to
clean skeletons are not the same species that infest skin collections.
For detailed information
on running a successful bug colony, see http://www.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/mammal/dermestid.html
Janet Hinshaw
ph:
734-764-0457
Bird Division Collection
Manager fax: 734-763-4080
Museum of Zoology
University of Michigan
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A few weeks ago I was
helping a graduate student to do skeletal measurements on several dozens of
quail (Coturnix coturnix) skeletons
cleaned with enzymes last summer. Although the limb bones were fine, the
head, sternum, keel, synsacrum, and pelvis were crumbling into dust at the
lightest touch, especially the ones that looked brown. The light-colored
ones stayed mostly intact, but were so soft that it was impossible to take
measurements with a caliper.
I would not use this
method of preparation for small birds.
Sergei V. Drovetski
Research Scientist
CIBIO, Centro de
Investigação em
Biodiversidade e Recursos
Genéticos
Campus Agr√°rio de Vair√£o
Rua Padre Armando Quintas,
Crasto 4485-661 Vair√£o
Portugal
=============================================
Some of the enzyme
prepared mammal skeletons in our collections from the early 1970s are little
piles of dust with some teeth mixed in. Dermestids are really the way to
go. You could try isopods, mealworms, etc. but the fastest and most
efficient method of cleaning skeletons is with dermestids. I can run two
complete ducks through my concentrated colony in about 24 hours. They are
in a large aquarium-sized Plexiglas box. Run your colony in another
building or in a home garage or outbuilding. You can get a colony up and
running in a month or two.
Thomas E. Labedz,
Collections Manager
Division of Zoology and
Division of Botany
University of Nebraska
State Museum
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 There are successful ways to bug specimens
that have been in contact with formalin and stored in alcohol for long periods
of time. First dissect off any muscles to get the bone containing tissue. Then
soak in water with a few changes over a week or two, and then switch to
ordinary clear ammonia from the grocery store. It will plump up the tissue
further, which allows extra tissue to be removed and also imparts a flavor that
the bugs love. A second ammonia bath wouldn't hurt, followed by submission to
your colony in a very careful manner without letting the remaining meat dry out
completely. As the parts are cleaned, remove them from the mix and allow bugs
access to the rest. Occasionally certain parts may need re-soaked in ammonia,
but they will ultimately eat the tissue from specimen. I prepared a 'one of a
kind' skeleton from a 1922 fluid preserved specimen of Prosobonia on loan from
the AMNH for the curator here, and it came out very well.
On very large specimens
you may need to sacrifice bugs to do your work. I had a series of 20 large
snapping turtles donated to the collection here 25 years ago that had been
fixed in formalin and then dried out (I'm not sure they even been stored in an
the alcohol solution). I soaked and carved the tissue off, and then sent many
bugs in to do the final cleaning. A large percentage of bugs died valiantly
eating a stomach full before succumbing to the poison, but did finally finish
off the material. I sacrificed about a quart of bugs per skeleton. The
skeletons didn't come out as good as the roughly 300 Chelydra I prepared from
fresh specimens over the years, but were useable. I experimented with various
chemical maceration techniques that I did not find efficient, and ordinary
bacterial maceration would not work with a formalin contaminant.
Stephen P. Rogers (Mr.)
Collection Manager of
Section of Birds
and Section of Amphibians
and Reptiles
Carnegie Museum of Natural
History